Closure for receptacles



March 28, 1939. THQRN 2,152,225

' CLOSURE FOR RECEPTACLES Filed April 6, 1936 2 S'nets-Sheet l VINVENT R ATTORNEY March 28, 1939. P. M. THORN CLOSURE FOR RECEPTAQLES Filed April 6, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w .1 a y Y 7. a 2 F 2 w m mm W 6 u s INVENTO ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOSURE FOR REOEPTACLES Percy M. Thorn, New Rochelle, N. Y. Application April 6, 1936, Serial No. 72,950

'1 Claims. (01. 221- 2) This invention relates to closures and more particularly to closures for paper containers.

It is an object of this invention to provide a closure which may be readily opened and closed at will and which Will be so inexpensive to manufacture that it will be available for the most inexpensive type of packages.

It is a further object to provide a closure which will be so fiat that when applied to containers it will permitthem to be stacked one upon the other without danger of falling.

Containers are of two general types; one class, made of glass, hard paper, or tin, or other metal, and carrying the more expensive material, has

ordinarily been provided with some type of closure which could at will be opened and closed to give a tight joint; the other type of containers ordinarily made of paper of one type or another, as for example the less expensive cardboards 0 have not been deemed suitable for closures which can be opened and closed other than some cover which can be taken on and off, and such closure elements as have been suggested have not been satisfactory. V

It is a further object of this invention to provide a closure which can satisfactorily be used, particularly upon the latter type of containers.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a container that may be made in quantity production and to this end it is an object to provide a closure which can be made and assembled as a unit when desired,'and which can be applied as a unit to containers of standard construction.

5 The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the-relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a container embodying this invention with the face member in part removed to show the interior construction. Figure 2 is a section along the line 2--2 of Figurel.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a view partly in section showing another modification.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a sectional view of a further modi- '5 fication.

Figure 8 is a side elevation and Figure 9 is a section of a closure of this invention applied to the side wall of a container.

Since one of the primary purposes of the in- 10 vention is to provide a closure which may be 'made of paper, I have chosen to illustrate as made of that material. It will be understood, however, that certain features of the container may be of more general application. 15

In the drawings the numeral Ill designates a container such as the box in which breakfast cereals are ordinarily sold and showing a closure of this invention carried upon one end wall ll thereof. The closure comprises primarily an 20 outer face l2 held parallel to and spaced from the end wall II to provide a recess l3 for a shutter l4. As illustrated, the outer face [2 is of generally circular form and has attached to its periphery on its under side an annular rim 15, q the thickness of which serves to provide the recess I3 for the shutter.

The shutter I4 is pivoted to one of the stationary members for swinging movement. I have chosen to illustrate it as pivoted to the end face 3Q l2 at IS, in order that when the elements are assembled, the different parts of the closure will be held together as a unit independent of the container; The pivot I6 is arranged near the periphery of the recess l3 and the shutter may be of 3 elongated shape defined by circular arcs so that it may swing from one side of the recess I3 to the other about the pivot I6. 0n the other side of the shutter from the pivot at the point N, there is attached to it a cord l8 and grooves i9 40 are cut in the annular rim l5, at appropriate points so that the cord may pass through them to the exterior. In this manner it will be clear that by pulling upon one side 20 of the cord, the shutter may be moved to one side of its recess, 45 and by pulling the other side 2 I, it may be moved to the other side of the recess.

When the shutter is in one position, as for example the downward position shown in Figure 1, aligned openings 22, 22a, and 22b are cut5 through the end Wall II, the shutter l4, and the outer face l2, so that with the shutter in this position, access is afforded to the contents of the box. As soon, however, as the cord 20 is pulled to bring this shutter to the upper or dotted 5 5 line position as in Figure 1, the opening 22a in the shutter moves out of alignment with the openings 22 and 22b in the end wall and the outer face member l2 to close the box.

The closure of the construction just described is assembled as a unit by gluing the rim [5 to the under face l2 of the closure, attaching the shutter member M by its pivot l6 and inserting the cord ends 20 and 2| through the recesses l9.

As will be seen, the edges of the grooves iii are preferably rounded as at |9a so that the string will pull easily even if pulled at an angle.

Such a closure may be manufactured in quantity and attached to any container at will, by pasting it upon the under face thereof. It will readily be understood that the opening 22 in the wall of the container may either be preformed in position to register with the openings in the closure when the latter is applied, or this opening may be perforated to facilitate ready removal, or it may be left unformed untilthe packagereaches the hands of the consumer, in which case the consumer may cut the opening 22 in the container with a sharp knife, thus for the first time breaking theseal of-the package. In either event, once the registering openings are provided, the shutter may be used to open and close the container at will.

In this embodiment there is also illustrated a feature which, in :some instances is a feature of some importance, namely that immediately surrounding the central opening there is impressed Within the end wall I.l an annular rib 23 and the material of the end wall within the rib 23 is slightly raised above the level of the rest of the end wall as shown at 24. ,By this construction the soft paper of'the end wall is materially stiffened to prevent the end wall sagging away from the shutter and the portion of the :end wall immediately surrounding the opening'forms a tight joint against the shutterat all times. It will be understood that this feature may be employed with any of the embodiments herein illustrated whenever desired.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the parts of the construction correspond generally to the construction illustrated-in Figures 1 and 2, except that the outer face I2 is bent :downwardly or offset to provide va terminal wall-1 [i5 for therecess l3, and a fiat peripheral extension 511 for attachment to the end wall of the :container. Where :this construction is employed, the openings H9 are cut through the terminal wall H5 of the recess and in this manner'the terminal wall H5 is utilized to limit the movement of the shutter and prevent a tendency of the shutter to slide out beneath the peripheral extension ll5a.

To accomplish this end more particularly, if desired, the cord l8a may be'attached to the under face of the shutter at I "la so that as the shutter ismoved to-the limit of its travel in either direction, the cord passes from its under face up through the openings H9, and in this manner definitely prevents the shutter from sliding underneath the under face at-the point whereit is glued to the container. In this figure also there is shown a diiferent method of producing a tight closure between the shutter and the periphery of the opening comprising a paper or fibre washer I23 which maybe attached to the end wall of the container around-the opening r22.

In the form of the invention illustratedinFigures '5 and 6, the form is similar to that illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, except that a slot'2 P9 is cut in "the terminal wall M5 to permit a tab 2I 8 .raised central :section such shutter.

In the form of the invention disclosed in Figure 7, the recess 3 l3 for the shutter is formed by bending the outer face 3l2 downwardly to form a terminal wall 3| 5 and underneath to form an under wall 3H5. Similarly on the other side of the closure, the material of the face is bent downwardly to :form a'terminal wall M5 and underneath .to form an under wall 3l6a. The under walls 3; and 3| 6a extend to a point of meeting at :31! inorder that the shutter itself may always effect a tight closure, but this meeting point 3|! ispreferably disposed completely at one side of the registering openings 32-2, 322a and 3222) so that the under face 346a. forms .a tight closure completely around the opening.

This embodiment :may be operated either by a cord such as is illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, or by :tabs as illustrated in Figure 5. The essential characteristic of this particular embodiment comprises the fact that the continuous sheet is folded over to form the terminal walls :of the recess so that there tisyno :danger of the .shutter sliding out of the recess to the side :and becoming bound.

If it is desired to {employ a reinforcing rim and as were. illustrated ;at 2.3 an'd.2.4 in Figures .1 andz2, in this-embodiment of theinvention or in any other embodiment :in

which an :under sheet :is inserted between the shutter andthe end wall of'the container, :it will :be understood that the rim and raised portion :may be imparted to the interposed vsheet such .as

the bent over portion 3l6a or to the end wall of the container, as desired. The embodiment illustrated :in Figures 8 and 9 .is similar: to the embodiment of Figure .1 except that in .lieu of -the'form of pivot employed in Fig- -ure;1, the annularrim 41:5 is :cut with a recess! l-'6 into :-which there is :projected a point All] formed upon-the shutter, and the oppositewall ii I B'ofthe recess 41:3 is cut uponaniarc about thepoint M56 as a center so that as the cords 420 :or '4.2l-1are pulled, the shutter is moved about the :point 41.6

as a pivot and .at all times retainsits place .within the recess.

In thisxfigure there .is shown another method of insuring atight joint between :the shutter and the Wall of the container. In :this form the-circumferential rim may be of greater thickness at the outer peripheryi-than-at the .corner, as for example being made of two parts M5 and 4 Ha, one of .which, 5a, is of .much larger internal diameter than the other so that when the closure is glued to the container the wall of the container will bulge outwardly toward the shutter.-

In any of the foregoing constructionsi't will be seen that the peripheral wall of the face member'greatly strengthens the wall ofthecontainer at'points closely adjacent to the opening so that the closure may be employed on-containers having relatively flexible walls and still maintain a sufficiently tight closure.

Since certain changes'may be'madein :the

, above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative andnot in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A closure for containers or the like comprising a face member of paper, a circumferential rim around and fastened to the face member upon its under side and adapted to be attached to the end wall of a paper container and to form therewith a compartment, a shutter within said compartment and pivoted to said face member, means for attaching said rim to a container, there being aligned openings in said face member and said shutter in one position of the latter.

2. A closure for containers or the like comprising a face member, a circumferential rim around and fastened to the face member upon its under side and adapted to be attached to the end wall of a container and to form therewith a compartment, a shutter within said compartment and pivoted to said face member, means for attaching said rim to a container, there being aligned openings in said face member and. said shutter in one position of the latter, there being a cord attached to said shutter extending outwardly on both sides for operating the shutter.

3. A closure for containers adapted to be attached to a container comprising a pair of paper elements immovably fastened to each other and defining a compartment between them, a shutter pivoted at one end within said compartment and contacting both, a member attached to the free end of the shutter and passing to the exterior for operating the shutter, there being aligned openings through said elements and said shutter in one position of the latter.

4. A closure for containers comprising a pair of paper elements immovably held in spaced relation, a shutter pivotally mounted between them, there being aligned openings in said elements and said shutter in one position of the latter,

and means to stiffen one of said elements and to concentrate pressure between it and said shutter at the periphery of the opening in said element.

5. A closure for containers comprising a pair of paper elements held in spaced relation, a shutter pivotally mounted between them, there being aligned openings in said elements and said shutter in one position of the latter, and-means to bow one of said elements toward said shutter comprising a coating of adhesive on the opposite side of said element to concentrate pressure between one of said elements and said shutter to the periphery of the opening in said element.

6. A closure for containers comprising a pair of paper elements held in spaced relation, a shutter pivotally mounted between them, there being aligned openings in said elements and said shutter in one position of the latter, and means for holding said elements in spaced relation being so constructed and arranged as to bow said elements toward each other.

7. A closure for containers comprising a shutter movable over a wall of said container and there being aligned openings in said shutter and in the wall of the container, means upon the container wall and bearing upon the shutter at the periphery of the opening and said means being adapted to stiffen the container wall adjacent to the opening, said means comprising a circumferential rib substantially at the periphery of the opening having an inner edge of the rib extending above the general plane of the end wall.

PERCY M. THORN. 

